Sagmeister & Walsh

Name

Sagmeister & Walsh

Legal name

Sagmeister & Walsh

Website

https://sagmeisterwalsh.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Graphic Design Services

NAICS

Other Specialized Design Services (54149)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Cover Design, Illustration & Book Interior Design Services (MPAJAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Editorial & Production Services (Copyediting, Proofreading, Formatting, Typesetting) (MPAJAJAG)

Keywords

• Graphic design services
• Multimedia exhibition design
• Creative branding partnership
• Public art installations
• Visual identity design

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Exhibition Fees: Fees from touring immersive exhibitions at museums and cultural institutions, including the 'Sagmeister & Walsh: Beauty' show at MAK Vienna and Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt.
2. Book Publishing Royalties: The Beauty Book published by Phaidon exploring the concept of beauty in design and architecture, co-authored by Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh.
3. Art Commissions: Commissions for murals and public art installations, such as the 400m2 beautification mural for Aspern Seestadt urban development project in Vienna.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Sagmeister & Walsh is the design partnership of Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh, creating self-initiated and commissioned creative arts projects including visual identity work, immersive multimedia exhibitions, authored books, and large-scale public murals. Core deliverables are sold to museums, cultural institutions, cities, and urban development projects on a project basis. The firm operates in parallel with the founders' separate independent studios (Sagmeister Inc. for non-commercial work and &Walsh for branding and advertising).

Product overview

Sagmeister & Walsh is a design partnership between Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh, functioning as a single unified creative studio rather than a platform architecture. The partnership creates self-initiated creative arts projects including the 'Beauty' touring exhibition (shown at MAK Vienna and Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt), the 'Beauty Book' published by Phaidon, and large-scale murals like the Beautification Mural at Aspern Seestadt in Vienna. Individual partners also maintain separate studios: Stefan Sagmeister operates Sagmeister Inc. for non-commercial work, while Jessica Walsh runs &Walsh for branding and advertising projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Beauty Exhibition Immersive visual multimedia exhibition for museums and cultural institutions that investigates why people feel attracted to beauty, how they engage with it in daily life, and its positive effects. Draws on graphic design, product design, architecture, and city planning examples. Commissioned for MAK Vienna (2019) and Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt (through 2020).
• Beauty Book Published book, issued through Phaidon Press, that explores how beauty was displaced by functionality in design and architecture over the past century and argues that beautiful forms are not only more pleasing but more effective. Targeted at design, architecture, and broader cultural readers.
• Beautification Mural (Aspern Seestadt) Large-scale commissioned mural for urban development and city clients that transforms a 400m2 gray wall into a work combining visuals and writing on the theme of water, designed to be perceived on multiple levels by residents. Commissioned for Aspern Seestadt, Vienna (20,000+ residents, multi-phase development through 2028).

Quantifiable outcome

• MAK Vienna exhibition in 2019, now touring at Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt through 2020
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Phaidon PresscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Phaidon published the 'Beauty Book' by Stefan Sagmeister and Jessica Walsh, a comprehensive exploration of the concept of beauty in design and architecture over the past century.
• MAK (Museum of Applied Arts) ViennacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019MAK Vienna hosted the 'Sagmeister & Walsh: Beauty' immersive exhibition, now touring to Museum Angewandte Kunst Frankfurt. The partnership positions the museum as a destination for cutting-edge design exhibitions.
• Museum Angewandte Kunst FrankfurtcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Currently hosting the 'Sagmeister & Walsh: Beauty' exhibition through 2020, continuing the European touring exhibition that debuted at MAK Vienna.
• SwarovskicoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Swarovski collaborated with Sagmeister & Walsh on the 'Beauty' exhibition at MAK Museum in Vienna, providing support for the immersive exhibition experience. The partnership brought luxury materials expertise to enhance the visual impact of the exhibition.
• Aspern SeestadtcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Aspern Seestadt, one of Europe's largest urban development projects in Vienna's 22nd district, commissioned Sagmeister & Walsh to design the beautification mural spanning 400m2 along Asperner Seepark.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Pentagram: Pentagram is the most prominent independent design partnership globally, with multiple partners running autonomous studios similar to Sagmeister & Walsh's founder-led model. Both firms operate on a prestigious, project-based creative model and compete for the same high-end cultural and brand identity commissions.
• &Walsh: &Walsh is the branding and advertising practice co-founded by Jessica Walsh that operates in parallel to (and grew out of) Sagmeister & Walsh. It shares creative DNA, founder ties, and the same NYC base while operating independently as a comparable design firm.
• Chermayeff & Geismar: Chermayeff & Geismar is an iconic NYC-based design partnership known for high-profile identity work for cultural institutions and corporations. Shares the founder-led, reputation-driven business model and comparable client prestige.

Broad incumbents

• Wolff Olins: Wolff Olins is a global brand-led creative agency with comparable offerings in identity, brand strategy, and cultural design work for major institutions. Operates at a larger scale but competes for the same enterprise-level brand and cultural engagement commissions.
• Landor & Fitch: Landor & Fitch is a large global branding and design consultancy with deep institutional client relationships (museums, cities, corporates). Overlaps with Sagmeister & Walsh in high-prestige brand identity work but operates at materially larger scale.
• IDEO: IDEO is a globally recognized design consultancy with a comparable creative reputation and similar institutional client base. While its core model focuses on innovation consulting, IDEO competes for many of the same prestigious cultural and public-sector design engagements.

Emerging players

• Studio Dumbar: Studio Dumbar is a Dutch design firm with strong exhibition and identity work for cultural institutions, including similar touring show work in Europe. Comparable in scale and creative ambition to S&W's European touring exhibition practice.
• 2x4: 2x4 is a design studio with a comparable focus on cultural institutions, exhibitions, and content-driven identity work. Operates at a similar boutique scale with strong museum and cultural-sector client relationships.
• Mucho: Mucho is an independent design studio known for high-profile identity work and self-initiated cultural projects. Shares the founder-led, philosophy-driven creative ethos that distinguishes S&W from conventional agencies.
• Kram/Weisshaar: Kram/Weisshaar is a design practice known for boundary-pushing exhibition, installation, and identity work with institutional clients. Comparable creative ambition and exhibition-focused portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sagmeisterwalsh
• YouTubevimeo.com/user13893723
• Facebookfacebook.com/sagmeisterwalsh

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sagmeister & Walsh